Estranged wife of former Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich puzzled by his latest troubles

Estranged wife of former Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich puzzled by his latest troubles

Former USC and Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich of Newport Beach holds daughter Coski, while wife Alix and son Baron enjoy sunset at Balboa Pier in this October 2012. Todd Marinovich was arrested Sunday after being found naked in an Irvine backyard with marijuana and another drug.

NEWPORT BEACH – Alix Marinovich sat in a Chevrolet Tahoe outside her mom’s home Tuesday afternoon, pondering how life had become so dark for her estranged husband, former USC star and Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich.

Four days earlier, the 47-year-old football star was cited after he was found naked with marijuana and suspected methamphetamine in the backyard of an Irvine home on Bluecoat, a quiet residential street, police said.

“What was he there for?” Alix Marinovich, 32, asked while gripping the steering wheel. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s baffling because it’s so out of character.”

Todd Marinovich’s fall from grace due to drugs is well-documented.

The former Capistrano Valley High and USC quarterback and was arrested for cocaine possession a month after the 1990 Sun Bowl. He was removed from the Raiders’ roster after only two seasons because of repeated drug use.

In 1997, he pleaded guilty to felony charges that he was cultivating marijuana in his Dana Point home and a misdemeanor charge of illegally possessing prescription medicine.

He joined the Los Angeles Avengers’ Arena Football team in 2000 but was arrested on suspicion of heroin possession and cut eight months later.

Todd and Alix Marinovich met while they were both enrolled in a drug court treatment program through Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. They married a year later, but separated several months ago.

Alix Marinovich said her husband has been clean and sober for several months.

However, on Aug. 11 when he showed up at her mom’s house to pick up their 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, Alix Marinovich was convinced he was using drugs again.

“I could tell by the way he looked,” she said. “His beard was gone and his face looked like a skeleton.”

His wife said that three days later, her husband, who doesn’t have a permanent residence and has been staying with his mother in Irvine, returned the children to her.

Concerned about his welfare, Alix Marinovich insisted that he remain with her and their kids for a few days because “he needed a place to stay.” He stayed until Aug. 16 and then unexpectedly returned Sunday, she said.

He never mentioned the incident on Bluecoat, said his wife, who learned about the matter Monday night on Facebook.

Todd Marinovich could not not be reached for comment and his mother declined Tuesday night to discuss the incident.

Alix Marinovich said that when her husband is clean and sober, he’s a wonderful dad but seems haunted by his addiction.

“He seems to self-sabotage,” she said. “He feels he isn’t deserving of love and having good things happen to him. His biggest worry is that people will judge him.”

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